As a photographer and father, I strive to see the world from as many angles as I can.
For images, it’s to see or show something new, fresh or compelling.
As a parent, it may be to keep my kid safe or find our way to a new adventure.
In all cases, even bringing video and writing into it, it’s about not limiting myself or my audience to one perspective. Even if you can only see one side of things you should recognize that they are often three-dimensional and imagine what you might see if you were someplace different.
Lately to put this in practice with my daughter, when picking her up I don’t tell her where I parked, I simply text her a picture from what direction I think she will be coming from. I am forcing her to recall her surroundings and see them from a different perspective.
It is a conscious choice on my part, as well as being a fun game. And I do hope that it affects her thinking in other areas, sort of a behavioral psychology experiment. I know it affects mine in personal and group situations, and specifically increases my sympathy for others, if not my agreement with them.
I’m looking forward to the day when she approaches me from a different angle than I expect. And I’m hoping I can still see it from her point of view.
—–David.
P.S. Sometimes I give her clues when there are multiple options (her school has three typical pick up locations), like the size of the parking lot, or the compass directions which she hasn’t bothered to memorize yet.
How do you force your child or yourself* to look at familiar things in a different way?
(* Or your child within!)
P.P.S. The featured photo is from a day I was driving and my daughter said how much she liked the rain so I opened the moonroof for her … Ha! Looking at things from a different angle indeed!
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